There are crucial local and Mayoral elections coming up across the UK in May so this is an ideal time to push for some simple policies that will materially reduce inequality and improve the quality of life where you live. To help everyone take action, we have come up with four asks – The Fairness Four – that you can put to your sitting councillors and also candidates, as follows:
1. Evaluate the likely impact of council policies on socio-economic inequality*
2. Pay all directly contracted staff the real Living Wage (as set by the Living Wage Foundation)
3. Ensure all council contractors are required to pay staff the real Living Wage
4. Publish a plan to reduce the pay ratio between the CEO and the lowest-paid directly employed council worker
* As per the Socio-economic Duty, section 1 of the Equality Act 2010. This was, regrettably, not brought into force by central government but local councils can take action on this and many are doing so eg: Newcastle and other major cities. The Equality Trust and Just Fair are campaigning to encourage the Government to bring the duty into force: https://1forequality.com/
PLEASE ASK YOUR COUNCILLORS TO SIGN UP TO THE FAIRNESS FOUR NOW!
You may be able to find your local council and Mayoral candidates here using this citizen-led database. Your local council website and/or your local library may well also have candidate information. Please forward any responses you receive from any councillors or candidates to us at info@equalitytrust.org.uk – thank you.
If you want to campaign locally, here’s a downloadable leaflet which we recommend printing off as double-sided on A4.
By taking this action you are actively helping to build a fairer, better UK. Thank you very much for your support.
The Equality Trust Team